Morning Gang!
Here we are again and what a turbulent week it's been in the world of model railways! There's a million and one rumours going around about all that's happened, and I have my own theories about various things, but we won't get into that here. But we wish everyone well with whatever the future holds. My personal feeling is that things are changing, but in general the hobby is as strong as it's ever been. Yes we need to encourage more youngsters to get involved, but there's ways to do that which aren't difficult. They're not just quick and come at a costs potentially!
We have lots of things planned and are determined to make them happen. The visions of the future for SMS are becoming clearer and clearer in my mind and as Arnold Schwarzenegger says in his 7 Rules Tools Life book that I'm reading now… “Don't be a lazy bleep… Work your ass off and you can make it happen”. You read that in his Austrian accent didn't you?… “Do the work!" Just need to get everyone else on board now.
This have been a bit challenging this week at work as we've been a bit short staffed, so I've been down on the shopfloor for a couple of days lasering, while Tina picked & packed the orders and Klaire & Carl cracked on with restocking printed media and packed the stuff I'd lasered. Sam & Stu have been manning the phones and taking care of social media etc. Sam's also now got a fancy new light box for photographing products, so he's been getting to grips with that, photographing the Peco stuff we've got to get listed on the site.
Klaire's also been tidying up the showroom as we've got Hayle Model Railway Club popping in today for a VIP shopping experience. If that goes ok we're looking at opening for a few hours, one Saturday each month so those that live locally and work all week get a chance to come and browse the dioramas etc on display and see some of the latest kits in development.
Product Development - Latest News
I've finally managed a couple of days at my desk this week and have been pushing on with the development of a new “Engineering Works” based on a small factory building near to where Tina's Mum & Dad live. It's got a similar feel to our KX090-OO Bonded Warehouse, but with a bit of a twist. I'm really looking forward to seeing the prototype assembled.
The brick work for the front walls alone took almost six and a half hours to get right! I was completely cross-eyed by the time I'd completed it. Instead of the usual English bond, the prototype is Flemish Garden Bond, bit with a few anomalies due to the arrangement of the windows and doors. But it's looking rather splendid now. Hopefully by the time you read this, I'll have the windows, doors & chimney sorted. Then it's just the roof! I think initially it'll be a low relief kit as I'm hoping to use it on our new 5m diorama which we're working on. Depending on how complicated the rear wall is, if I can find some photos of the prototype, I'll hopefully get a full kit done to go with it.
Right then… over to my right-hand-man, Sam, for this weekend's videos.
Skendleby Model Railway
Sam again, it's time for my video picks this week! My first selection was actually found in my YouTube recommended whilst I was looking for videos. Immediately, I knew I wanted to feature the video. One of the first things I did was look up the name "Skendleby" in the Railway Modellers Club and was pleased to see a result from the man himself Nick Homan. Can't believe I didn't put it together straight away. Anyway, his layout is extremely impressive and comprehensive. I've been a fan of his work for a while so being able to see parts of it which he hasn't posted is fantastic. Looking forward to the more in-depth videos Nick, keep it up.
Full LEGO City Overview 2024
Sorry… more Lego…. (Sam likes Lego - JN). Last week I featured a video highlighting the history of Lego trains so continuing with that trend here is another Lego video. I know these aren't exactly the usual modelling you guys see but it's too impressive not to share. This video comes from Brickcrafts ran by "Bob Brickman" (who also has a German channel with the same videos). Currently, he is creating a massive Lego city. He really pushes the boundaries of what's possible with Lego, occasionally doing builds which shouldn't technically be possible. His attention to detail is fantastic and the entire city is full of life. As I'm writing this, he just uploaded his "Full LEGO City Overview 2024" so I feel like that's the perfect video as an introduction. I'm sure that most of you have built with Lego before but have any of you built something a bit more complex? This makes me want to give it a go. Also another thought, do you think he 3D models the buildings before hand to avoid wasting money? There are definitely a lot of Lego 3D models out there.
Life as a tram driver in HONG KONG
Time for another non-modelling related video. Since I've been featuring quite a few videos from Asian modellers, when I stubbled across this I thought it was some what relevant. In this video we get the POV from a tram driver in Hong Kong. You would think that his job would be relatively relaxing but the amount of people who don't look when crossing the road is insane! Don't worry though, no one gets hurt in the video and it is completely SFW.
Building a Complete Model Railway in 8 weeks - Port Dinorwic
For my last video, I've selected one by Kathy Millatt - which I'm sure many of you know. Now that I think about it some of you may have already seen this layout but not how it was built. Anyway, in this video, she creates an entire layout in just 8 weeks! The layout is for the "Hornby A Model World" TV show. She's gone with a simple track but hasn't held back on the scenery. The quality of this video needs to be mentioned as well, crisp voice over with great visuals and story telling. This is a great video no matter what skill level you are as anyone can learn from it. As a beginner modeller, (I know I've been here a year but still consider myself a beginner) it's great to see it go from nothing to a fully finished layout. Kathy really is a jack of all trades, doing all the lighting and even designed and 3D printing her own models. A highlight in this video for me is the painting montage she did, shows off her skills.
What else?
The 2024 First Class members layout plaques are now available to order so you can now pop your orders in for those if you're a First Class Member of the Railway Modellers Club. Don't forget to enter your Username to verify your eligibility when you order.
And if you fancy one, we now have some rather lovely, clear acrylic Railway Modellers coasters with a tastefully engraved logo on them. They make the perfect place to put a hot mug of tea (or a nice cold bottle of beer when the weather warms up. If you'd like to order one for your railway room, you can find them here.
And we've also made the Railway Modellers Pin Badges available at long last too. Wearing these to shows & exhibitions make it easy to spot fellow members.
New baseboards/fiddle yards:
It's only taken about a million years to get these done and released but we finally have actual fiddle yard extensions that are compatible with the BB017, BB021, BB029 & BB037 Baseboards. So they're the correct height. As with the ones for the BB018, there is a choice of single or twin track. Full details of each can be found at the following links:
- BB039 Twin Track Fiddle Yard Baseboard for BB017 etc
- BB041 Single Track Fiddle Yard Baseboard for BB017 etc
Ooh and Stu's been working on a couple of new blog posts to help demystify some of the complexities of the hobby and answer some of your most common questions:
Right… that's about it for this edition of the weekly news.
Have an amazing weekend folks… and of course…
Keep on shunting…
Justin, Tina, Elizabeth, Lola & The Team
P.S. This weekend's header image comes from Rob York over on the Railway Modellers Club with this fantastic, incredibly busy shot of Carlettdale Holes Quarry. This was an obvious choice as it reminds me of working with my dad at Cliffe Hill Quarry in the summer holidays while I was at Uni… which alarmingly was over 30 years ago!
P.P.S. Missed a newsletter? You can read all of our recent newsletters online here.
Great newsletter, as always, and all the very best for a Happy and prosperous New Years to you all.