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fighting procrastination fifteen minutes at a time

Tag: mrj

Thwap on the mat

8th January 2021 / / 0 Comments
Model Railway Journal Magazine. #281
#130 Thwap on the mat MRJ 281

Look what arrived on the doormat this morning. I really thought that I had run the course of my subscription of the MRJ. But the joy of receiving this package of goodness on this day of freezing rain and general gloominess is one small pleasure in ones rather dull existence. I have to say that there is little that I am necessarily interested in but once again I enjoy reading about the methods and authors of these articles. However I did really enjoy Geoff Forster’s ‘Designs for Bleddfa Raad’ in O Scale. Also John Chick’s ‘My Brain Trains’ bring an interesting slant to modern layout control.

Then there is another one of my addictions that needs feeding on the opposite page from the contents page. Which is “Unconsidered Trifles” from Wild Swan books and I have always enjoyed Geoff Kent’s output.

So once again more food for thought from the great people at Cygnet Magazines. Now where’s my cheque book to extend my subscription for another four issues!

Until the next one…

Model Railway Journal Magazine #266
Model Railway Journal Magazine #266

Reading Room 07 ?

19th October 2018 / / 0 Comments

Model Railway Journal Magazine #266

Model Railway Journal Magazine #266

Today I picked up #266 of the Model Railway Journal and what a bumper issue it is there’s a ton of material in it that I can’t wait to get to get my teeth in to. I might be a bit bias as there is a significant level of 2FS articles and also back scene painting via a very renowned 2mm modeller John Burkitt-Smith. In fact with an editor who is also accomplished in the dark arts of 2FS I guess it was always going to feature in some way. Continue reading

Reading Room 06 ?

25th September 2018 / / 2 Comments

Whilst at the Seven Valley Railway yesterday I popped back into their shop on Hampton Loade station to see if I could pickup some more missing MRJs and I wasn’t disappointed. Yes it’s become a bit of a quest. However my cunning plan of knowing what I had and what I needed fell down as the spreadsheet I had created on my phone was not accessible and consequently I ended up with some duplicates, so much for modern technology. Oh well I’ll just donate them back to my local railway shop, if they will have them. But I’ve now created a much simpler notes list that I can keep track of the missing issues whilst out and about.

There are some real quality reads in my haul including articles about layouts I never got to see in the flesh but wished I had, such as Gordon & Maggie Gravett’s Ditchling Green, Ddaullt and Darenth, not to mention Roy England’s buildings for Pendon, which I really need to go back and see.

I’m looking forward to getting home and reading these with a cuppa and note pad to revive the inspiration.

Until next time..

Reading Room 05

20th September 2018 / / 0 Comments

Whilst out and about today I saw that the latest MRJ on ‘Smiths’ shelves and took a quick flick through to see if it was one I wanted to get but with my new scan and bin it strategy it takes no physical space and limited digital estate so it makes sense to collect them all as you don’t know when a close interest in pre-grouping wagon chassis might hit! A rather cracking issue and particularly liked the Talyllyn wooden buildings article by Peter Kazer.

Reading Room #2

5th June 2018 / / 0 Comments

MRJ #263 has been out in the wilds for a while but now falls on the workbench. Another cracking issue, not every article is to my liking which is pretty much across the years content but as I have said before just because it may not be to my taste there’s still a lot that can be taken from the articles and the authors, even if it’s looking at a picture composition and how it could be learned from with my own photography. Case in point is the London Road article which is no where near my modelling interests, period or scale, but the quality and detail just draw one in and the story of the railway and its formation. The there’s Llangunllo mk2 micro-tastic layout.

finally a great *editorial and for anyone interested the TOC.

Until next time..

©️Cygnet Magazines Ltd

Swag mags

23rd May 2018 / / 0 Comments

Whilst away visiting my friend Andy in Wales we had a day out to the mixed traction gala at the Seven Valley Railway. Having walked down through the Seven Valley Country Park, a lovely shaded path next to the railway and the river Seven with some great places to stop and take pictures of passing trains, we arrived at Hampton Loade for tea and cakes. After a flurry of activity of passing trains my attention turned to the bay platform where there’s a few wagons on display and one of which has a little shop inside it. In there I found a stack of MRJ mags way bigger than I could either afford or more importantly carry back to the car. So I selected out around a dozen and handed over the princely sum of a fiver. On talking to the man in the shop he said that lots of people come with lists of what they want. Doh! Why didn’t I think of that! Oh well better armed for next time.

I love the old MRJ’s and although it seems aimed at the larger scales there is so much to take from the content even if it’s not my cup of tea. Anyway some nice bedtime reading to keep me going and until I can return with my list I will take inspiration from some great modellers. So until the next one.. when I promise to have some modelling to show.

Reading Room #1

22nd April 2018 / / 0 Comments

Model Railway Journal #262Thought I would start off a sporadic thread of things that I read which mainly consists of magazines. The one constant since coming across it when I was a member of a club is MRJ or Model Railway Journal. After all the other mags falling by the wayside I still get it virtually every issue and when at model rail shows I am even collecting the back issue numbers that I haven’t got. There is all ways something of interest even if the theme is not really my cup of tea as I like to think I can learn no matter what the scale it the techniques.

To this months edition is case in point. The lovely layout of Orford by Paul Clarke after a downsizing move had to replace his Debenham 7mm Layout with something much smaller. Just oozes character and detail and then there is more from Gordon Gravett on road surfaces on Arun Quay. Plus there’s a bit of 2mmFS but a bit beyond me. I love going back and browsing through my old collection when there’s a quiet moment and one of the few things I haven’t sold, donated, or scrapped. Long may it continue.

Cameo Layouts – Wild Swan Books

2nd June 2017 / / 0 Comments

IMG_2722.jpegYesterday saw a package thud through the letterbox and much to my enjoyment it was my long awaited birthday present. Having seen the book at the York 2017 show earlier in the year I knew I wanted to add it to my smallish book collection, yes small, having learnt from book hoarding parents and I have managed over the years to keep my buying habits under check. I just love Wild Swan books and although there are quarters that see them as over priced (due to them being soft back) but I just like the house style and presentation. It would be all to easy to go mad but then thankfully finances dictate a very austere approach.

Iain Rice is one of the greats off model railwaying in my humble opinion and I have pretty much got most of the books he has published. His ethos resonates with me and I really enjoy reading through his process and get great enjoyment out of his illustrations too. Having had a quick flick through it looks like it is going to be another essential motivational book. Following on from that a challenge or competition has sprung forth from this and until recently I was unaware of this. Much discussion and cogitation can be found over at rmweb where one of the proponents frequents and entrants projects will be documented and open for all to see.

I am considering this very carefully as I found out at the NEAG35 meet the 2FS Association are planning a layout challenge too to be completed for the 2020 Diamond Jubilee and this would conflict with that goal. However as both would be micro-ish layouts it is a possibility but I would need to come up with an idea for the cameo as I have already got the inspiration for the 2FSGJ layout. It would be very interesting to do something I have never done before, i.e. scale/gauge; could be S Scale, 3mm, or some other really esoteric combination. Given the smallness of a cameo layout stock creation could be kept to a minimum which is the main stumbling block of moving to another scale and maybe a jaunt into a larger scale would allow for more detail than I am use to. But this is all academic at the moment and pure speculation.

As you can also see my fix of Model Railway Journal also turned up at my local newsagent. It is the only mag that I would subscribe to and not destroy to digitise as I did with all my previous Railway Modellers and other mags and if I buy any now after the once over they get scanned and then put in the recycle bag. But MRJ is an archive that is work keeping in it’s original form as I do go back time to time and look through at random issues. I am slowly trying to work my way back to issue 0 via mainly the internet although unlikely to find that one but every time I go to a show or railway I look out for them.

So the library expands and gives more food for thought and maybe I will spend the  weekend noodling up some ideas for a six foot cameo layout! Lets see where it takes me.

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