All scales

Kev

i must say i have never noticed anyone saying they dont work you track will still get mucky but the Relco type units slow down the build up .

I have 2 gaugemaster ones i used when i was DC redundant now as they are no good with dcc.

I think how they work is they make the track less of an area for crap to adhere to therefore slowing the build up simple to fit little lights flash on them when you run locos

cheers Brian

Kevr i used mine when i had dc, track cleaning is not as critical as with dcc
the relco did the job but i never just left it at that i still gave the track a good
old hand clean just not as often,yes they work.
thumbs:cool:

The figures and the birds arrive ready-painted though some could do with tidying up.  That isn't always apparent to these middle-aged eyes until an enlarged photo shows it up.  

It's all on the "to do one day" list

I have 2 gaugemaster ones i used when i was DC redundant now as they are no good with dcc.

Brian - if those are still on hand and in need of a good home I'll be over in less than a month now.

I use one of the Gaugemaster units and am rather happy with it.  Sure doesn't keep the track clean but it helps shift the dirt and causes the occasional spark as wheels pass over "gunk" and it burns off.

They can't be used with DCC as both rely on the 16Vac current which can only be employed for one function.

I will try and find them Rick i have a rough idea where i stored them

cheers Brian

 

Here's one of my blog entries with Birds.  The avian sort.:It's a no no

 

http://www.modelrailforum.com/forums/blog/neil_s_wood/index.php?showentry=362

As all of my birds are currently Preiser I would be interested to know of your (or anyone else's) opinion on the various brands.

I'm perfectly happy with what I have but if there are others which might be better I'd like to find them.

And a flock of Presier gulls dosen't come cheap.

I went to the London Festival of Railway Modelling on Saturday and visited the Langley Models stand (http://www.langleymodels.co.uk/).  I've been looking for OO gauge cats for a while so was pleased to find a pack of them, but also picked up a pack of twelve waterfowl and another of twelve gulls. 






£3.80 for the gulls, £3.95 for the waterfowl and £3.20 for the cats.  You can buy them already painted but it costs more.  There was also a 'pick n' mix' tray with all sorts of pieces in which was fairly addictive! Engines, winches, postboxes, propellers, mooring bollards to name a few…

I can see an order to langly for some swans soon! Would look great on my canal. ;-)

Just a question re. the gulls and waterfowl, Reg. I have been told that they are quite overscale for OO and Langley's N gauge seagulls and waterfowl would be a better proposition. Your thoughts on that would be really appreciated. :thumbs

I've measured the largest of the swans and it has a body of 1.3cm which, scaled up, would equate to 99cm (not including the neck and head).  One website gives the length of an adult Mute Swan as 1.25m to 1.7m which presumably includes the neck and head, so it seems about the right size.  It certainly looks 'right' in my opinion. 

Similarly, the geese are 0.9cm, so about 70cm scaled up.  Wikipedea says a Canada Goose is 76cm to 110cm long, so include the neck and its the right size for an adult. 

The gulls have a wing span of 1.4cm (with slightly swept-back wings) giving 1.06m scaled up.  A Herring Gull, which is what you are most likely to see in the UK, has a (presumably straight) wingspan of 1.38m to 1.50m, so again this seems the right size.  Easy to forget just how big these birds can be! 

Oh great, I've got a coot (5mm long) stuck between two keys on my keyboard…

"Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe" (John Gooders; Kingfisher Press 1990) gives the body size (bill to tail) of the Herring Gull as 53-59cms.  The same source quotes the equally populous Common Gull as 38-43cms.

The wingspan of most birds is approximately 2.75 times their body size making the figures offerred by wallreg only slightly over the top and unlikely to be of consequence in 00/HO scale.

Birdfacts gives the wingspan of a Herring Gull as 144cms and of the Common Gull 120cms which is again as close to the same figures as makes no difference.

The vast majority of British gulls seen commonly will be one or other of these; for the casual observer the most noticeable difference other than size is that the Herring Gull has pink legs while the Common has yellow.

I looked into those figures both as something of a "twitcher" and out of curiosity as they did seem to be slightly on the big side.  British gulls are fairly large birds.  The less common Great Black Back Gull is, at up to 71cms long and 158cms wingspan, approaching the size of the smaller albatrosses.  Those are normally quite docile but being pestered for food by their slightly smaller relatives can be rather intimidating.

Our local Pacific and Silver Gulls here are much smaller and certainly don't scavenge as aggressively.  They are also much quieter without the raucous call so familiar at British coastal locations.

It's mainly the beaks which look a bit overscale . . .

This is only out of curiosity, and i've never tried myself but has anyone tried making any of these birds or other small animals out of 'fimo' or any other air-drying or baked modelling clay. i've made rabbits for my garden railway and it wasnt too difficult. when you consider that a block of fimo at about £3.95 should yield about 30 OO scale birds.

Mikey

 

 I would imagine you would need very small fingers and exceptional eyesight :hmm

 So anyone with the above, can i place my order now

Perhaps thats why i havent tried birds Kev !! I knew there was a reason

mikey

when i was modelling N scale I used to cut little polystyrene triangles, paint one end red (for the comb and wattle) and stick them down for a group of chickens. wouldnt work in oo though.

 

mike:chickeny

Eyesight?  What is this thing you call eyesight?

I think I had some of that back in my mis-spent youth.  There's no way I could attempt modelling something only a couple of mm or so in size now.  I have trouble some days getting wheels onto rails and that's with the close-up glasses on.

Go G scale!!!

mikey

[user=10]mikeyh[/user] wrote:

Go G scale!!!

mikey

:hmm Although perhaps not in a 12ft x 10ft bedroom :question