Railway Stories from Sodor - The Model Series!

New page has been added for the RSFS Model Railway Series!

Currently, Episode 4 is still delayed, but written up and already sent out to the cast members, the only problem delaying the episode at current, is Gordon, due to a fault with his chassis, which i hope to have fixed in time for filming upon completion of the layout, since that too has been completely refurbished with new track sections, for smoother running.

Check back soon for more news and updates to the blog and community!

Bachmann Thomas Reviews - Page Update!

The first review of the Bachmann Thomas range, will be Item No. 58741 'Thomas the Tank Engine'

With help from friends, the reviews will give an idea about the hauling capacity before wheel-slipping, the looks, appearance and detail of the models, there will also be for/against notes along with the reviews, but please don't be put off by whatever feedback is given about the reviewers of the models, they are most certainly, worth the money!

And we hope that you will enjoy reading through our reviews, as we are enjoying making them! :)

Belle Update!

Here are photo's of Belle's current progress.

















I'm looking at adding her water-cannons today by drilling holes in her tank water filler caps, I'm not really sure as to where i can find any lamps to go on her buffer beam, but i have added a headlamp to her smoke-box from the trackmaster model.

Blog Revamp

The blog is being updated!

Although several updates are currently taking place, all blogger accounts are being upgraded automatically in April to a new design, but hopefully, it won't be or look as bad as YouTube's new designs.

Belle Project - Off to a good start!

The recently announced Belle loco project from The Sodor 'OO' Works, has started it's first stage of work, the donor locomotive, a Hornby Dublo 2-6-4T has had the body removed and  the smoke-box door, carefully filed down. This wasn't very easy since the body of the tank is die-cast, and takes a lot of very patient time to get it smoothed out, because it's such a chunk being taken off, it took me roughly 3 to 4 hours to get it done properly.







As you can see here, the smoke-box is quite bulky because of how the metal has been molded, but the face from the trackmaster Belle, fits nicely now, whereas before, it stuck out a fair way.
The body is going to be having a good render, for the addition of the water cannons, bell and headlamps.

The chassis is also going to have the rather bulky plastic pony wheels replaced with metal ones, from a Bachmann Gordon loco (Broken) for better grip and weight.

The next update will show how she looks after primer and slight rendition.

Next up for work - Belle!

The next new model project, will be Belle the Tank Engine.

She is based on a British Railways Standard Class 4 Tank Engine, wheel arrangement 2-6-4 and designed by Robert A. Riddles, She is not like most Tank Engines, for the simple reason that she is used to put out fires using her big water cannons.
She also has a brass bell, and electric headlamps on her buffer beam and one above her face. Her running number is 6120.

Though she is one of Sodor's biggest tank engines, besides Arthur, who is based on a Standard Class 3MT, in real life circumstances, they would not allow water cannons to be fitted to these engines for any sorts of firefighting purposes, as steaming would be made very difficult, since Tank Engines of her size, use a lot of water.
This fact was made clear in Day of the Diesels, when she uses her water cannons to put out a barn fire, when she goes to puff away to be cleaned, her water has been all used up!

Belle - Coming Soon from The Sodor 'OO' Works!

For more information, check back soon or check the forum

Admin's apology

Hello all.

Apologies for the updates, been a very busy weekend visiting Sacred for the Alexander Palace model railway show, was really worth the visit, and lots of new models bought.

Sadly, we couldn't find any Bachmann 08's, but hopefully, i will be having a look around at the next Toy Collectors Fair in May in Newton Abbot for a few Diesels and Steam locos.

The London Festival of Railway Modelling - 24th & 25th March 2012

The Annual London Festival of Railway Modelling takes place this weekend at Alexander Palace, it's one of the biggest model shows around, and packed full of detailed layouts, working demonstrations and some of the top traders who will be there selling new and collectable model railway items from some of the big manufacturers.

If you haven't been before, it's worth visiting!


The London Festival of Railway Modelling will take place on 24th and 25th March 2012 at the historic venue Alexandra Palace. Visit London's leading railway modelling show and see over 40 working layouts, a comprehensive selection of exhibitors and FREE practical modelling demonstrations from leading experts on architecture, signalling and lighting.


  
TICKETS...

On the day ticket prices cost:

• Adults £11.00
• Children (5-14yrs) £5.00
• Family (2+3) £32.00

All tickets to The London Festival of Railway Modelling include:

• FREE Showguide
• FREE Parking
• FREE Shuttle Bus

Next planned model projects - revealed!

Since i only have Bluebell and Primrose left to model now, i feel that the time is right to announce the next new models i have planned. Though not all of them will be done just like that, i have cast my mind towards the TV series and part of the Railway Series.
So, below is a list of who i will hopefully be looking to make models of, over the next couple months.


The Sodor 'OO' Works - Forthcoming Projects:

Splatter & Dodge
Arry & Bert
Lady
Rosie
Whiff
Billy
Dennis
Molly
Charlie
Stafford
Bash
Dash
Ferdinand
Fergus


These are the main OO locomotives that will hopefully get a chance to see daylight throughout 2012.

I'm also looking at redoing my 009 Skarloey Railway models as well, by upgrading the chassis to N-Drive Productions wonderful mechanisms, which replace the discontinued Ibertren and Arnold chassis used for certain locomotives.

I'm only really doing the characters who i believe deserve to become part of reality in the OO world, and though most characters, probably never will be produced in the Bachmann or Hornby markets, i am always happy to give them a shot for my own pleasure! :)


I will release more info as it comes via the blog, and also via the forum!

Arthur Re-work - Complete!

Thanks to Skarlouie (a.k.a. Skarloey on the bachmann board and world of thomas modelling), the finished rework of Arthur is now completed!

The buffer beam was modified three times to get it looking right once and for all, and with the new plate fully finished, the model looks a lot better and far more accurate in detail. I compared the model to images around the web, even screenshots of the TV series 'Arthur', and there is no doubt in my mind that he is based on a class 3MT 2-6-2T.
The Ivatt Class 2MT 2-6-2T is smaller than the Standard Class 3MT, so there is no way that the tv series Arthur is based on this class of engine.. Otherwise, it would mean that Thomas is the same size, which would be wrong.

However, there is nothing to say that couldn't be a Ivatt Class 2MT, but photos around the web, looking at both versions of the locomotive, id say my money is on the 3MT. It's also possible that Arthur was built as a 'Hybrid' locomotive.

Quote of the day - No. 1

 I thought this was rather fitting to start it off.

"Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again."


This goes out to anyone who has never met, talked or seen me, my partner or anything else that we have done, so unless you have experienced us first hand, and actually know what we are like, then we would urge all visitors, to not listen to such utter bollocks that comes out of the mouths of the silly little chavs around websites the likes of YouTube and Facebook.
The attacks of the past towards us by these users have been pathetic, their arguments either weak, biased, false or unfounded, and anyone with a brain knows to ignore it and make up their own mind about the both of us, our works and the forum by experiencing it first hand.

Seems like a lot of rumors have gone around about things that were apparently done, either in the past over such minor things, but in all seriousness, though a lot of these people may try to act like big hard mature adults, a fair number of them, don't have the slightest clue! ;)

Improvement on Arthur

Well, after a lot of careful work, it looks as though i have had to build a whole new front running plate for Arthur, which isn't a bad thing really IMO, makes room for much needed improvements, and after some careful time and work cutting, filing and gluing, the new buffer beam, is now much better than the original.







Looking at TV references above for the running plate, I've been able to adapt one to suit my model using what styrene sheets i had available, and so far, i am pleased with the results of the work done.










Steps and vacuum pipes are the only things left to add before i prime and paint the new running plate, overall though, i think it looks great, especially for this class of LMS engine.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

The World of Thomas The Tank Engine Modelling, would like to wish all our members and everyone who is celebrating, a very happy St Patrick's day today.

Anyone who isn't familiar with this holiday, the link below explains what it is all about. :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Day

Adjustments to Arthur's running plate amended!

Arthur has had some slight modifications made to the front running plate/buffer beam, it has been carefully removed and rebuilt to make it straight and more accurate to the tv series counterpart. Wasn't an easy thing to do, but i am glad that it has finally started to look like the real thing.

New photos will be posted showing the before and after of the modification.

Arthur the LMS Tank Engine - Photos Published!

Photos of the completed Arthur MK II model are now posted up in the completed projects page of this blog, the model was made using a Triang BR Standard Class 3MT 2-6-2, which i bought from a collectors fair for £20, it was a good bargain, since it had been fitted with a Hornby 'Fowler' 2-6-4T chassis, giving Arthur the correct wheel diameter.

The paintwork i used to paint the model with is a Revell 'Email Color' Code SM331, which is a almost perfect match to the paint used on the Seventh series model. The model was also fitted with front steps from a broken kit and had steam feed pipes added from a Trackmaster Rosie model.
The model also has sprung buffers, which were already on the body so nothing much was really needed to be modified.

The lining and lettering transfers came from a shop called 'Peters Spares', which came in handy for the final stages of the models production. As of yet, a video is to be made showing how the model runs on film, this will be done in the next week or two.

More updates to come!

Over the next few weeks, we will gradually be building the blog up with more information and new pages, we also hope to get some new reviews sorted in the next couple of weeks for the Bachmann and Hornby Thomas Model Reviews sections. The forum certainly has taken shape as well, and is running nicely at current, we will soon have our video posted with thanks to Charlie. :)

We also want to thank all our visitor for stopping by to check out the blog, we hope you have enjoyed what you have seen so far, and hope you will drop by again soon when we will have more new photos displayed in the galleries.
If you have any questions regarding projects and other things, please use the comments box at the bottom of the blog to submit your queries to us, we will be happy to reply to all comments left.

Kind regards and thanks

SacredWolfie

Diesel 10 - Complete!

Visitors can now find photos of the completed Diesel 10 model in the Completed Projects page.

He's been a rather enjoyable model to do, and quite challenging, not easy to convert a LIMA 42 body to a smaller size, but it was worth the time and patience spent, although his claw/grabber isn't fully functional, i will come back to the model at a later time and work on making the arm moveable and adjustable.

But for now, please enjoy the photos, a video will be made soon showing how he runs.

Community Page & Sodor Gazette - Updated!

The World of Thomas Modellers Community Page has now been updated with a short description about the World of Thomas Modellers Community and what we are all about.

The Sodor Gazette page has also been updated with recently added links and latest additions to the blog and forum, please feel free to have a look around. :)

kind regards.

SacredWolfie.

Diesel 10 - Work in Progress (Part IV)

New photos showing Diesel 10's current progress so far, are now here!

DIESEL 10

WORK IN PROGRESS PHOTOS

(Batch No. 4)

Check back soon when we will have the Complete Project photos posted to the gallery!

Bachmann HO Thomas - Trains On Time..

Important Announcement regarding Bachmann Thomas in the UK.

We have recently been checking with Trains On Time, the online retailer who has in the past couple years, has been a great supplier to UK fans with Bachmann's wonderful Thomas & Friends range. But sadly, we have received news that they are no longer going to be stocking any of the Bachmann locomotives.

Sacred recently e-mailed the shop earlier in the week, and here is the response he was given.



"Hi Stephen,

Yes, we are thinning our stock down so will not be stocking the Bachmann Thomas range anymore.

Sorry about that,

Daniel."



We just would like to take this opportunity to give personal thanks to Trains On Time, for being a wonderful online store, and also thank Daniel for his pleasant business over the last couple years, and wish them all the best for the future.

But for the fans of Bachmann's Thomas range, UK collectors will have to turn to eBay or one of the other US stockists, we will do our best to look around for the best deals.

Pinchy's Progress

Diesel 10's claw is slowly starting to take form, it's on the the trickiest parts of the model being built at current, but hopefully it won't be too hard to render it into a functioning claw/grabber.

It's being made from styrene, and Albion Alloys tubing.

Currently, the claw is done, i am just now working on the mechanism to make it look and work manually by hand, i will post more photos very soon of how he looks.

The World of Thomas Modelling Forum - Registrations Now Open!

We are happy to say that the world of thomas modelling forum is now open to new users, the forum isn't open to guests, so you will need to register an account if you wish to view and post within the boards.

Click to go to our board

Thanks for checking in, drop by again soon for more modelling news and updates!

The World of Thomas Modelling - Community Page!

We now have a link to the World of Thomas Modelling Community added to our updates page, a page has also been created which will talk about the community and what it is all about, which will be worked on during the course of the week.

We are a small community at that, simple and easy, and clean from spam.

Our aim is to model Thomas the Tank Engine characters from the TV Series and Railway Series sides of the Thomas world, it doesn't matter what the scale is, we are dedicated modellers, and enjoy the hobby for what it is supposed to be about, fun and challenging!

If you are a Thomas Modeller, and looking for help with future projects, look no further. :)

Diesel 10 - Work in Progress (Part III) - Photos!

New photos of Diesel 10's current progress are now here.

DIESEL 10

WORK IN PROGRESS PHOTOS

(Batch No. 3)

You can see more progress photos posted soon via The World of Thomas The Tank Engine Modellers Forum and via our Facebook page!

Diesel 10 - Work in Progress (Part III)

Both faces from the CGI and Magic Railroad 'Trackmaster' Diesel 10 models have arrived and carefully been cut way from the molded bodies, they are going to need a slight touch up paint-wise where the blade left some marks, but the Magic Railroad face is going to need a complete redo as the pupils are somewhat bigger the the eyes themselves.. Which i think might have been an error by the manufacturers.

The claw is slowly starting to take shape as it comes together, it is being made from styrene sheets and a few other bits and pieces,  It will hopefully be made adjustable, but i am sure that in time, it will look more like the movie and CGI models of Diesel 10.

Photos of his progress so far, will soon be posted. :)

Work on Diesel 10 continues..

I've had a lovely weekend away seeing my fella for some much needed catching up, so now, it's back to work as normal for another week till i see him again in 3 weekends time for the annual Alexander Palace, Festival of Railway Modelling Show in London.

Diesel 10 will continue through the week, and i'll have new photos posted via the blog, our forum and YouTube later in the week, check back soon for more news!

kind regards.

SacredWolfie

Diesel 10 - Making the Claw/Grabber!

The next step in the project will be to make the claw that is mounted on top of his roof, this is going to be the tricky part of this project, since it is a fairly unusual thing to have on a Diesel locomotive. With help from a friend and fellow Thomas modeller, i will hopefully have some plans which will be useful to make the claw as accurate as possible.

This screen shot shows the detail of the claw, you can just make out the brackets on the roof that the claw sits on when it's not in use, but again, it is something unusual to find on a real 'Warship'. I might even fill in the gaps on the front and rear of the chassis, where the LIMA coupling hooks would be, and make the open spaces below the buffer beams, fully closed like show here.

I'm away this weekend out of town, so the project will continue either late Sunday or the Monday, when i will have more new work in progress images ready for show. :)

Diesel 10 - Work in Progress (Part II)

More progress is slowly being made with modelling Diesel 10, the gaps have been filled in with model filler, and the front of the model to house the face has been carefully cut away. Diesel 10's face has also been carefully made more accurate in size as it was over hanging the front of the loco body.
The chassis has been glued back together, and now needs to have weight added, since the block is too large to fit back inside the modified body.

I have bought some 'Deluxe Materials - Liquid Gravity' to give the chassis the desired weight and sturdiness, which i will glue inside the loco before the body is place back onto the new chassis.

DIESEL 10

WORK IN PROGRESS PHOTOS

(Batch No. 2)

More to be posted soon! :)