🖌️🌦️ Painting Realistic Backscenes, Blending Buildings And An Incredible Miniature Grand Prix!

Morning gang!

How's things? As some of you super-sleuths may have worked out… Tina and I sculked off for a week for a bit of a break in the sunshine… We were invited to stay with Tina's mum and dad at their timeshare so we thought stuff it, we've not actually been on a proper holiday since Elizabeth was about 8 years old so let's go! And it was rather lovely to get some sun on our faces, enjoy a sangria or two… Ate far too many garlic prawns and general just lounge about doing nothing. 

So I must say a whopping huge mega thank you to Jess for putting together a rather wonderful newsletter in our absence! She did a cracking job and we might just have to go on holiday a little more often now she's mastered the art of entertaining you all on a Saturday morning! 

We did still have a good chunk of work to do while we were away though as we were a bit short staffed here, meaning there was plenty of admin and other stuff to handle from the comfort of the poolside sunbed! We're back at HQ now and the Spanish sunshine seems a dim and distant memory. The Cornish sunshine is back in business again, and as always, you come back to a desk piled high with stuff that all needs dealing with, so I've been wading through all that for the past couple of days as well as getting to grips with all the stuff I need to get done in June and July. I can't believe we're nearly halfway through the year already. Crackers! And Lola seems to have actually enjoyed her week staying with another lady called Elizabeth over in Gunnislake while we were away. She's also recovered from her rather extensive and slightly traumatic dental work that she had to have done just before we went away and has been given a clean bill of health by the vet!

While we were away, Jess, Scott, Carl, Kate and Stu did a sterling job of keeping everything running, and sadly Kate worked her final shift for us this week. We're really sorry to see her go but she's moving on to fulfil a lifelong career goal. We wish her the very best of luck. 

Father's Day Is Just Around The Corner

It's that time of year again where we're all stuck for model railway related Father's day gift ideas. My Dad's not into trains or models so I've not a clue what to get him. But… If you're a Dad and your offspring needs a gift idea for Father's day, or your Dad is into model railways and would love a Realistically Better one… Then why not head to our Gifts department?

We have gifts for all price ranges with everything from building kit bundles and tool kits, a t-shirts and keyring, mugs and coasters! If you're really stuck, how about an eGift Card. They're delivered by email and you can choose the value. Plus unlike other shops, our gift cards don't expire.

Product Development - Latest News

To be honest, I've not the foggiest what everyone's been doing this week as we only got back to work on Wednesday. Stu's been working on various bits of the website, ill Sam has been taking care of social media with Jess and hunting down videos to share in this newsletter.

Next week though, I'll be back at it properly, working on updating some of our older, but best-selling kits that we can make even better for you. And we've got lots of new stuff in the pipeline to keep us all busy. 

In the meantime, it's over to young Sam for this weekend's videos.

Good morning. I hope you've had a great week. Unfortunately, over the last couple of weeks, I have had a pretty nasty chest infection and had to take last week off (which is why I wasn't in Jess's Newsletter). However, the antibiotics are doing their thing and I'm on the mend.

This week, I will be introducing a new section - Exhibitions. In previous Newsletters, I have tried to feature coverage of Exhibitions as they are a big part of the hobby and the community. Now, there will be a dedicated section for showcasing these layouts. You can submit yours or other people's footage via the help desk or by email.

Anyway, the usual videos will continue. 

Incredible Scale Model F1 Race at Miniatur Wunderland

To start the videos off, we have a new addition from Miniatur Wunderland. Pilentum had the privilege of recording the first-ever official race. As always, the team have done an excellent job of modelling the Circuit de Monaco.

The cars are controlled by a new drive system based on magnetic induction. This means they can have vehicles which drive independently and affect each other. Because of this, every race has very different sequences.

"A camera system was installed to film the race of the miniature vehicles directly from the racetrack." - via the video description. These have been adapted from Raspberry Pi Camera Modules. The Miniatur Wunderland team saved the video data and provided this to Pilentum Television.

(I really really want to visit Miniatur Wunderland - Justin)

Painting a Realistic Sky Backscene

Recently, I stumbled across a channel with the name Ron's Trains N Things. His goal is to provide model railroad tips, tools, and techniques which allow you to create your dream layout. His videos do exactly that! They are full of great commentary, humour and advice. Check out his channel, it's worth it. I'm sure I'll be featuring a lot of his videos in the future.

Backscenes are a huge part of a railway model layout. In this video, Ron shows us a great technique for a realistic-looking back scene. Not only does this look brilliant, but it also doesn't take all that long! Some techniques he uses include wet on wet and a lot of blending. 

Planting a Structure

Nobody likes seeing a gap between a building and the ground. Can you imagine what that would look like in real life? I'm a firm believer in rule 1 but come on, you gotta fill in those gaps!

Anyway, in the video, Doug goes to place down his gun store kit but notices that it isn't level. He begins by getting it level and then using small pieces of wood, he props the model up. From here, he fills in the gap but I won't spoil how he does it. You'll have to watch the video and find out. The end result is spot on.

N Gauge Dockyard Layout - “The Cruel Sea”

The Cruel Sea is a British War Movie based on a book of the same name. It was released in 1953 and features some of the most famous actors (in the 1950s) Jack Hawkins and Stanley Baker. 

This micro layout was created by Jason Pierce and is dedicated to his late father, whose favourite film and novel was The Cruel Sea. Jason was gifted the 1:72 version of the Compass Rose (the boat in the movie) from his father. He regretted never finishing it for him. So, some friends of his bought him the Revell 1/144 scale Flower Class Corvette which he built as the Compass Rose.

Please enjoy this video, where he briefly explains the backstory, shows the process, runs the layout and some still images with the theme tune over the top.

Exhibition Coverage

Like many of you, there are so many shows that I would love to attend. Unfortunately, this is often not possible. Travelling can be an issue as well as commitments we all have. However, I still want to see the layouts!!! So, every week I will provide a handful of exhibitions that have taken place recently. 

RMweb South West Area Group (SWAG) - 28th April 2024

Kicking off the Exhibition Section, we have the RMweb South West Area Group with their annual SWAG Member's Day hosted in Taunton. The original post on RMweb was created by user NHY 581.  In total, there were 9 layouts and 5 demos (including Stu aka stubby47). You can check out the original post by clicking here.  This coverage is from Callum, whose channel is named SDJR7F88. Stu reached out and thanked him for the video. Brilliant job on the video.

Bristol - 3rd - 5th May 2024

Next, we have The Bristol Model Railway Exhibition. Featuring a whopping 34 layouts, some incredible layouts were showcased and it is inspiring! These were all hand-picked by the Association of Model Railway Clubs Wales and West of England. Check out this great coverage from Cymru Rails.

EM Gauge Society - 11th & 12th May 2024

Next, we have the EM Gauge Society's Spring Exhibition. This show was hosted at the Bracknell Leisure Centre. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a list of every layout which attended. However, in this video, Dongits Model Railway showcases some layouts which they found interesting.  Their next exhibition will be their Summer show on the 17th & 18th of August 2024 in the Baildon Recreation Centre, Shipley. More information can be found on their website by clicking here.

Stamford - 11th & 12th May 2024

Next, we have the Stamford Model Railway Show 2024. This exhibition was organised by the Market Deeping Model Railway Show at the Stamford Welland Academy. As always, Dawn Quest does a brilliant job at covering this show. I can't express enough how much we at SMS love her channel and all the great content she provides for the community.

Ely & District - 18th May 2024 

Finally, we have the Ely & District Model Railway Exhibition which, believe it or not, was hosted in Ely, at the Ely College. Their 44th Model Railway Exhibition was made possible by the 2 Exhibition Managers, Brian S & John C, their 20+ dedicated Members and various partners & friends who gave their valuable time to help out. The video is from SP Rail and they cover 4 layouts from this exhibition (names can be found in the description).

Right, that's it for the Exhibitions. I'm sure I've missed some so please feel free to send them my way! Even if you don't have video footage yourself, let me know about the event and I'll do some digging. I hope you've enjoyed them! Are you deep in the community and often browse for videos? Feel free to send me any that you find interesting. I'd love to hear your feedback so leave a comment on this blog. You can also contact me via the help desk or over at www.railwaymodellers.com where my username is @sam. Have a great long weekend.

New Stuff

Right then… it's time for links to the new & updated stuff…

• LX141-120 Laser Cut Drainage Catchpits Bar Type (Pack of 9) TT:120
  Our ever-popular LX141-OO Bar Type Catchpits are now available in TT:120. Don't forget we also do these in OO Scale & O Gauge too!

Back In Stock

And we have some of our most popular resin OO Gauge 3D printed stuff back in stock…

• AX384-OO Circular Galvanised Cattle Feeders (Pack of 2) - OO/4mm/1:76
• AX365-OO 1980s/90s Payphone With Acoustic Hood (Pack of 3) OO/4mm/1:76
  These are brilliant for a station concourse or platform.

In Case You Missed It…

Here's a few things that you might have missed over the weeks, months and years that make great projects for a rain summers day!

• KX107-OO 5ft Modular Brick & Stone Walls
  Available in a choice of 7 finishes including Red Brick & Cornish Stone. This is a lovely kit by Sam which is a great first kit 
• LX087-OO Speed Bumps
  Love ‘em or hate ’em they're an essential for any modern image street scene
• LX067-OO Market Stalls
  Create a stunning market scene like Ashley has done in the picture below… and why not couple them with a few…
• LX079-OO Tressle Tables

Community Conversations

Over on the Railway Modellers Club this week, there's been loads going on including a few Q&A's… Please jump on if you can help…

• Carlos has been having trouble with his DCC fitted 125
• Justin (not me) is looking for advice on fitting smoke generators to locos
• John's had his dog scanned by ModelU!
• Simon's layout won best in show at Market Deeping (It's got our scaffolding on it too!)

Right that's about it for this edition of the weekly news. We're off to take Lola out for a walk, then the lawn needs mowing if it doesn't rain, before we head up to Liverpool to see Elizabeth's end of year show… They're performing Footloose at the massive M&S Bank Arena!

Have an amazing weekend folks… And of course…

Keep on shunting…

Justin, Tina, Elizabeth, Lola & The Team

P.S. This weekend's header pic comes from Rob over on the RailwayModellers Community with this brilliant shot of 66728 leaving Carlettbrook quarry on its way to Small Heath.

P.P.S. Missed a newsletter? You can read all of our recent newsletters online here.