
Morning gang!
How's things? Hope you've had an amazing week… And here we are again for another Saturday newsletter! Flying by isn't it… Only a few weeks to go and Elizabeth's heading back to Uni already for her third year! Bonkers how quickly that's gone.
It's been all fun and games at HQ this week too with the 1:32 scale project taking a centre stage and taking pretty much all of my time up over the past couple of weeks and will still be right into the middle of next week! It's slowly coming together. Tina and I have the baseboard built and the backscene in place. All the buildings for it are pretty much done and the illumination has been installed. Now we just need to get some landscaping sorted, add lots of foliage and then get the static grass laid and a load of gravel and dirt! With a bit of luck it'll all look pretty decent once it's all done, just in time for the client to come and collect it on Wednesday. I certainly won't be taking on another build like this in a rush! Far too stressful I can tell you. But hopefully the finished diorama will be worth the effort.

New Product Development
As we've been up to our lugholes with the 1:32 scale thing, and Sam's been busy with social media and other stuff, so there's not a fat lot new this week. Well, there is… we've got some new grass tufts and other things in but I've not had chance to get product images taken or get the descriptions written for the website, so you'll just have to wait until next week for those! They'll be worth the wait though.
In the meantime, it's over to young Sam for this weekend's videos.
Good morning! As always, I hope that you've had a great week and make the most of the weekend. Back to traditional UK summer weather this week as we've had rain mixed with boiling hot temperatures. This week, I've mainly been doing my usual tasks such as custom jobs, answering the tickets and phones, social media stuff, plus other bits and pieces.
Before we crack on with the usual videos, here's another excellent video from Dylan of Dylington Model Railway. In this video, he does an excellent job at kitbashing our KX094-OO Stoney's Workshop:
The YouTube and other social media videos are now in full swing! This week, I've made a small compilation of some kitbashes from you wonderful people, check it out here:
With all that being said, it's time for some videos.
The Oldest Steam Locomotives in the World
On the last newsletter, we got a comment from Peter B (backed up by Speed way bee) asking for some steam content. I'll start adding in some steam-related videos (every week if possible) so I hope you enjoy them. This video comes from Jago Hazzard, who I have featured many times now, who covers Puffing Billy and Wylam Dilly. These aren't the first railway locomotives ever built, the first coming from Richard Trevithick but these are the oldest surviving machines. Like all of Jago's videos, this goes into great detail within a relatively short time.
The top comment being from colin.d saying - "That was one of the most useful and comprehensive histories of the early locomotive story I have ever seen." gives you a good idea of what is to come. Very interesting!
Make Creeping Plants & Bushes In Under 5 Minutes
For this weekends how-to video, we've chosen this one from Twisted & Creative Soul on Youtube who shows us how to make really effective creeping/climbing plants, bushes & vines in under 5 minutes flat! They're so simple yet so effective! All you need is some jute twine, a can of spray glue, some leaves and a bit of fine foliage and away you go.
Incredible Brooklyn / Queens 1970's Layout
I've featured Fos Scale Models before, specifically his video on building a viaduct. In this video, he gives some updates on his spectacular Brooklyn / Queens 1970s-themed HO layout. He has been finalizing areas, adding extra details, adding backscene elements and more. He also goes over areas in which he needs to add buildings. Even if you aren't invested in his series, definitely check this video out as there is so much to see. The canal section has to be my favourite part, there are so many details.
Eddie Izzard's Incredible Layout
Little Trains & Big Names with Pete Waterman is a TV show that first aired in October of last year. Legendary music producer and keen railway modeller Pete Waterman meets celebrities who share his passion for model railways. He also works on a huge exhibition build. I picked this episode which includes Eddie Izzard, a comedian who I'm sure you all know. I understand that Eddie is quite a controversial comedian, but you can't deny that her layout is so incredible! Personally, I don't think I've seen a snowy layout as good as this one. It is based in Bexhill in the 1940s. The layout has a great story behind it too.
There are currently 4 episodes of this show which include Eddie Izzard, James May, Francis Rossi and Jools Holland. Be sure to check out the other episodes too.
West Wales Model Railway Exhibition
Finally, we have some exhibition coverage. This week, we are looking at the West Wales Model Railway Exhibition 2024 organised by the Aeron Valley Railway Society. This exhibition took place on Sunday the 11th of August 2024 at the Llwyncelyn Memorial Hall. There were 9 layouts attending in OO, OO9, N and TT scales. Also exhibiting was a Motorised Oxford Diecast Cars diorama. The video itself comes from Cymru Rails who I've featured before as they take some brilliant videos of these events.
For up-and-coming exhibitions, you can click here.
That's all I have for you this week, I hope you enjoyed them. Let me know what you think in the comments or via email (sam@scalemodelscenery.co.uk or help@scalemodelscenery.co.uk). I love seeing the modelling that all of you do so please send me any photos. Have a great rest of your weekend!
Let's Make A Scene…
Right then… Stu's been busy working on some more scenic guides this week to give you a bit of inspiration for cameo scenes on your layouts:
- Let's Make A Scene - Vegetation
Every layout needs vegetation of some sort… even if it's just a few tufts of grass & weeds. So we've been taking a closer look at how you can create realistic scenes with just a handful of scenic products. - Let's Make A Scene - Prototype Examples
Without a doubt, the best way to get inspiration for your layouts and dioramas is to look at real life. And when you start looking, it's amazing just how many “things” there even in just a small area. We've been taking a look at a few simple scenes locally and further afield that you can recreate on your layouts with just a small selection of pocket money kits, materials and accessories.
Back In Stock
Lots of scenery and handy-packs came back into stock again this week including:
- HP015-OO Wild Thistle Tufts - Handy Pack - OO/4mm/1:76
- FB017-OO Flowering Gorse Patches (Small) - OO/4mm/1:76
- HP013-OO Straw / Dry Grass 10mm Tufts - Handy Pack - OO/4mm/1:76
- Static Grass Starter Bundle
New Bundles!
Our bundles are a great way to get your hands on everything you need to detail a particular area of your layout… Here's a quick rundown of this weeks new bundles:
- Modern Image Station Detailing - OO/4mm/1:76
Everything you need to detail a modern station including Next Train Indicators, Mind The Gap markings, Station Signs personalised with your own station name, Ticket Barriers and of course, the obligatory vending machine. - Autumn Foliage Bundle - OO/4mm/1:76
And if you're modelling late summer to early autumn, this foliage bundle could be right up your street! Yes, there are flowers in the pack but we've done our research with the horticultural society. There's a Japanese anemone with beautiful white flowers which bloom right into October here in the UK. And there's a dwarf gorse which blooms late summer through to November! So it's still perfectly acceptable to add flowers to your layout for a splash of colour, even in the autumn.
Right, that's about it for this edition of the weekly news. Elizabeth has gone to Paris for a few days with one of her mates from Uni, so we've got the place to ourselves this weekend so we can crack on with some gardening if the weather stays decent. And we'll probably be heading to the unit to get a bit more done on the 1:32 scale project.
Have an amazing weekend folks… And of course…
Keep on shunting…
Justin, Tina, Elizabeth, Lola & The Team
P.S. This weeks newsletter header is another shot of Kevin's amazing Little Muddle layout from over on the Railway Modellers community with trains gathering at the station early on Friday morning.
P.P.S. Missed a newsletter? You can read all of our recent newsletters online here.
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Many thanks team, always look forward to my Saturday evening newsletter read down here in NZ.
I really look forward to the weekly newsletter - plenty of tips and interesting articles/videos. Thank you
As you only publish good ones it’s not a lot of good leaving a comment that speaks truthfully.